The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced its latest round of grant and loan recipients Aug. 4. It includes the XIT Rural Telephone Cooperative, which is getting $2.1 million for the Dalhart area, and Mid-Plains Rural Telephone Cooperative, which is getting $2.8 million for the area around Tulia.

The grant to XIT will allow it to continue an ongoing program to run fiber-optic cables to outlying homes.

"It allows us to provide high-speed Internet and data services to homes, and doing that over copper wires is difficult," said Darrell Dennis, general manager. "In our service area, we have a very low density of one customer per square mile, so we might as well take it to the house after we've gone that far. Maybe running fiber to the barn might be more accurate."

The total cost for the co-op's project will be about $12 million, and about 50 percent of its customers now have broadband service. A previous $3 million grant from the USDA allowed XIT to upgrade electronics in the Dalhart and Stratford areas to increase the amount and speed of data transfer.

Mid-Plains is also approaching the halfway point of hooking up its customers to high-speed lines.

"We're now building in Kress, Silverton and the Canyon area," said General Manager Brent Kennedy. "After we get done with that construction we'll be at over 50 percent. We're trying pretty aggressively."

The co-op's award is $1,388,000 as a grant and $1,421,000 as a low-interest loan. The money will go to run fiber-optic lines to the more remote areas of its service area.

"We're trying to hit the really high-cost areas," Kennedy said.

The USDA has awarded loans and grants totaling $2.65 billion for 231 projects so far. There is $1 billion in recovery stimulus funds left to be awarded by Sept. 30, according to a news release. The agency's goal mixes promoting economic and community development.

"Broadband access plays a critical role in expanding economic, health care, educational and public safety services in underserved rural communities," according to the release.